• Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) international reserves stood at US$102.8 billion as at May 15, 2019 from US$103.4 billion at April 30, 2019 • Tekun Nasional has channelled business financing worth RM140 million since the beginning of this year until April 30, 2019 • Malaysia's labour productivity grows 2.4 per cent in Q1 2019 • Malaysia's CPI rose 0.2 per cent in April 2019 to 121.1 compared to 120.9 in the same month of the preceding year: Department of Statistics Malaysia

TOKYO • In the months leading up to Uber Technologies Inc’s market debut, Masayoshi Son (picture) made a habit of pointing out that SoftBank Group Corp is the world’s largest investor in ride-hailing companies. Suddenly, it doesn’t seem like such an enviable position.

SoftBank has lost about US$16 billion (RM66.72 billion) in market value in the past three trading days as Uber plunged nearly 20% below its initial public offering (IPO) price.

Just two months ago, Son told the audience at the Milken Institute conference in Tokyo that SoftBank controls 90% of the ride-hailing market worldwide through its portfolio companies which also include China’s Didi Chuxing Technology Co, South-East Asia’s GrabTaxi Holdings Pte Ltd and India’s Ola Cabs. But, as shares of Uber and smaller publicly traded rival Lyft Inc went into a tailspin, that bet is beginning to look increasingly like a risk factor.

Lyft dropped about 6%. In addition to the US$7.7 billion investment in Uber, Son and his US$100 billion Vision Fund have poured more than US$10 billion into Didi Chuxing, US$3 billion into Grab and US$2.25 billion in General Motor Co’s (GM) self-driving unit Cruise.

SoftBank shares climbed to a 19-year high ahead of Uber’s IPO, thanks to a record ¥600 billion (RM22.8 billion) share buyback announced in February. Yesterday, the Japanese company said that all of the ammunition has been spent, with 100% of the purchase already completed.

The performance of Uber and Lyft has also raised questions about investor appetite for IPOs of large start-ups that prioritise growth over profitability. WeWork Cos, where SoftBank is also the biggest shareholder, is another money-losing giant which announced plans for listing.

“The key point is not just how Uber was trading on its first day, but given the market conditions, can it absorb yet another big IPO like the loss-making WeWork,” Amir Anvarzadeh, a market strategist at Asymmetric Advisors Pte Ltd, said in a note to clients. — Bloomberg